The United States and South Korea will hold their annual Freedom Shield joint military exercise from March 9 to 19, officials said on Wednesday.
The allies said the drills are intended to strengthen combined readiness and support planning related to wartime operational control, as tensions with North Korea remain high.
North Korea has repeatedly condemned the spring exercises as invasion rehearsals, while Washington and Seoul describe them as defensive. Announcements around Freedom Shield are often followed by sharp statements from Pyongyang.
The exercise is expected to include command-post training, with related field exercises conducted alongside the main program. Officials said additional details, including some force elements and schedules, would be released closer to the start date.
The timing puts the drills back at the center of a familiar cycle on the Korean Peninsula: allied readiness exercises, North Korean denunciations, and renewed attention to deterrence. What follows next will depend in part on how Pyongyang chooses to respond in the coming days.
Sources used:
Reuters
Associated Press